Mirage
Mirage, also known as the Black Cat, is a villain in the Aladdin TV series and also one of the frequent villains on the show. She is voiced by Bebe Neuwirth who also voices Belladonna. In literature she is the tragic hero of The Rise and Fall of Mirage and the main antagonist of Journey of the Vixen and the stories in that title. Appearance She is an anthropomorphic cat with grey fur with the closest to her breed being a Russian Blue the same breed as Emily. However she has olive tan skin at sunset with green eyes, blue eyeshadow, and black hair wearing an Egyptian like headdress, gold cuffs on her arms, and a ruby dress. In her original appearance, Mirage's dress is split in two like a belly dancer but in her return in The Rise and Fall of Mirage, Journey of the Vixen and the Anthro Saga her dress is a full dress which means that it has no gaps and the only things that are exposed are her arms and her feet. Literature The Rise and Fall of Mirage: Mirage's first appearance in literature is the deviantART story The Rise and Fall of Mirage. Having undergone a fight with a gang of thugs, Mirage is driven insane until one of the thugs is forced to kill her by stabbing her in the back and leaving wounds all over her body including on her neck and face. However Mirage is not dead as Prince John finds and saves her life but it comes at a price; Though her life is saved and because she is not under anaesthetic, Mirage spends the whole of her operating session screaming. As the operation comes to a close, she lets out one last scream followed by a deathly silence which gives the belief that the operation has killed her. While the operation does not kill Mirage, it does severely weaken her so Prince John visits her again a week later where she becomes a lot more stronger and by the time she is discharged from hospital, she becomes the queen of England. However, paranoia soon sets in for Prince John who has her put under armed guard so that those who attempted to kill her cannot reach her which ultimately fails. In a fight, Mirage is captured, "tried" and ultimately executed. The news hits Prince John who reacts with emotion and fury and orders the death of those who killed Mirage. Finally, as her body is found it is released, thrown into a pit and set on fire to prevent others from finding it. Journey of the Vixen: Though she is the main antagonist of Journey of the Vixen and its following stories Mirage does not make an appearance in its first installment Journey of the Vixen but she is mentioned by Lord Shen who warns Lady Blue about her and the consequences that will occur if she gets her hands on the Doomsday weapon. Day of the Tiger: Mirage makes no physical appearance in the first installment of the series Day of the Tiger, here she watches Lady Blue arrive on the coast of Sri Lanka from the shadows, in fact she watches the vixen's moves from the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara Buddhist temple. It is also here where she sends her agent after the vixen whilst also asking about an assassin known as The Tiger. Sophia later contacts her to inform her about The Tiger and he has agreed in the assassination, Mirage is also informed that Lady Blue is still in captivity however she does not know that whilst this statement is true, the vixen has already broken out of prison and prepares to find the Tiger. Operation Maharaja: Having failed to keep Lady Blue in captivity in Sri Lanka and forced to accept responsibility for the failure to assassinate the president, Sophia is made to report her failure to the black cat. Mirage appears more physically this time as a face in the fire that Sophia makes in a Nepali Hindu temple in Kathmandu, when her agent reports that the assassination of the president failed the black cat says that she should be furious at the vixen but just expresses disappointment. Though the silver vixen awaits the death penalty, Mirage spares her due to her dedication and hatred for the Blue vixen and sends her to carry out "Operation Maharaja". The instant Sophia leaves Nepal the fire containing Mirage's face goes out. Mirage is later contacted by Sophia after the first part of "Operation Maharaja" is carried out and though Sophia is congratulated her face turns to fear as the black cat concludes that the vixen can't send the brahmastra to Kathmandu from Muzaffarabad if she is in Karachi so sends her to Muzaffarabad ready to collect the brahmastra. Mirage's voice later gives clearance for the drivers to take the guns, the brahmastra and unknown to them Lady Blue to Muzaffarabad. All Animals are Equal: Mirage appears in her full form as part of a makeshift summoning at the Saint Isaac's Cathedral where she seems to see Princess or as she is known in this story "Natasha" but the wolf later reveals herself as Sophia who presents her with the Sword Kladenets. Though initially pleased with Sophia's success, the cat's pleasure turns to fury owing to the vixen failing to take the brahmastra into Kathmandu after it came out of Muzaffarabad and also her failure to get rid of the blue vixen. Her rage is also increased by Sophia who retaliates by stating that she hasn't failed her, the silver vixen then explains that whilst the brahmastra is in the hands of the peacock and not the cat, it was her that forced Lady Blue to shoot out the landing gear causing her to perform a belly landing; the silver vixen finally pulls the trump card by stating that Lady Blue is now in the back of an ambulance with severe injuries meaning that she has both failed (in getting the brahmastra) and succeeded (in getting rid of the blue vixen). As she considers getting the brahmastra both a success and a failure, Mirage unveils her plan to get the Sword Kladenets out of Russia; Sophia will keep the sword overnight then the next day she will send the sword to a blacksmith who will make a fake sword. The silver vixen will then keep both swords overnight then during the night, she will replace the sword with the fake and make off with the real one and as part of her plan; Mirage sends Sophia to her residence. Once the Sword has been forged, the black cat waits for Sophia at her residence then takes her out into a garden for target practice. The silver vixen destroys three sets of targets with the fake sword which is shown not to be as powerful but it does destroy the targets when she decapitates them all then with the fake sword testing finished, the fake sword is thrown at Mirage's feet. Sophia then tests the real sword and wipes the targets off the face of the earth. Whilst impressed by the power of the sword the black cat still asks for more training because she wants to see whether any defense or counterattack can stop the Sword. But before the test Mirage decides to let the silver vixen have a rest for half an hour for what will surely be the most punishing aspect of testing the swords: A duel with her. After completing the standard formalities, Sophia and Mirage fight with the swords and whilst Sophia puts up a valiant defense against the black cat the latter gains the upper hand because she has the real sword. Mirage eventually "defeats" her agent and one time foe when she throws the silver vixen's weapon out of her hand, kicks her to the ground and points the tip of the sword at her throat and keeps it there as she gets to her feet. The cat congratulates the vixen for the fight and also compliments her further when the two swords are virtually identical and that night vanishes as Sophia prepares the swords for when one sword will stay in Russia and another will come out of Russia. During the fight between Lady Blue, Natasha and Sophia, Mirage's voice orders Sophia to attack exclusively Natasha for the last time in this story. Mirage of Arabia: At the end of the events of All Animals are Equal Mirage pays a visit to collect the real Sword Kladenets but once she gets to Sophia's residence it is almost as if she discovers a massacre. As she enters the house she first sees the glass cabinet open and the key inside, then once she gets further inside the house is practically riddled with glass and the furniture is ripped and torn but the nadir comes when she comes across a smashed window in the outline of an anthropomorphic animal. The cat rushes down the stairs to discover...the corpse of Sophia drenched in blood and surrounded by glass with her once ice blue eyes now turned white. Mirage has an emotional outburst and to prevent her body being discovered sets the corpse on fire and swears revenge on the one animal that she believes has killed Sophia: Lady Blue. Searching for a new agent to avenge Sophia, Mirage journeys to Baghdad where she comes across a new agent: Maid Marian who at first is not convinced as to why she should help the cat until the cat informs her that Sophia has been killed by another vixen: Lady Blue. Again Marian is still not convinced until Mirage tells her a vivid description of the vixen which impresses Marian despite the fact that the cat and the blue vixen have not interacted with each other and most evidence is circumstantial at best; Mirage finally has Marian on her side when the vixen agrees to avenge Sophia. During the night, Lady Blue meets Mirage for the very first time after a nightmare where she killed Sophia but she appeared as someone very close to her and knew very well. In this nightmare, Sophia is the victor as well resulting in Mirage cackling that the Sword Kladenets is hers. The black cat later appears in the city of Baghdad to kill off gnats created by Lady Blue to distract Maid Marian as she flees with Maya Ali to Syria. A furious Mirage berates Marian for being unable to locate Aaron's rod and the fifth component of the Doomsday weapon and also refutes an attempted defense Marian uses; this defense being the capture of the blue vixen and a new one: Maya Ali. Mirage however decides to give Marian three chances: One to find Aaron's rod, the second to find the fifth component of the weapon and the third for the final component then casts a spell on her sending her back to the weasels, stoats and ferrets. The cat's face then appears from the sky and sends Marian to the same location that the blue vixen is: Syria. Here, Marian tries to negotiate with more terrorists now in the form of minks hoping she can persuade more allies for the weasels and once she does, Marian informs Mirage she has more allies for the weasels so the latter sends the weasels and their allies to Syria. Search for the Sword: Alongside Maid Marian, Mirage does not appear in Search for the Sword until the very end where she first appears as a face in the fireplace of Maid Marian's residence at Insole Court in the Welsh capital city Cardiff in the district of Llandaff. She later appears in a physical form when she appears out of the fireplace to confront Marian about the final component of the Doomsday Weapon. When Marian shows it to her, Mirage is delighted much to Marian's confusion as to why she is so confident about the Doomsday Weapon owing to Lady Blue's far superior record over the course of the journey with four victories (excluding the events of Operation Maharaja) whilst Mirage only has two victories (including this one). Mirage explains that Lady Blue is not color blind when it comes to distinguishing between red and blue as she has been coming across red and blue during the Red Blue fox feud at Bernwood but she may be color blind in the case of black and white and everything fits: Mirage will disguise herself as the White peacock and steal the other five components of the Doomsday Weapon. With them in her grasp she will bring them to England. After hearing her plan, Mirage gives Marian the simple instructions of keeping the sword in her possession until further notice. As Mirage leaves, the final component comes into light: Excalibur. Duel of the Vixens: Mirage plays a much larger role in the Journey of the Vixen series finale Duel of the Vixens than she did in other stories in the series notably Day of the Tiger and Search for the Sword. She first appears when the idea of getting the Doomsday Weapon seems to drive her insane as she orders Maid Marian to bring the last component to England where it will be established and possibly even activated; with Marian on her way to England, to Nottinghamshire the black cat puts her own plans into action to steal all the five components that Lady Blue once recovered: The Trishula from Sri Lanka (Day of the Tiger), the Brahmastra from Pakistan (Operation Maharaja), the Sword Kladenets from Russia (All Animals are Equal), Aaron's rod and the Staff of Moses from the Mdidle East (Mirage of Arabia). Mirage later confronts Lady Blue at Nottingham Castle after the latter kills Maid Marian where she appears in the disguise of the white peacock and forces the blue vixen to hand over the last component. The vixen's suspicions are confirmed when Mirage roars "You have confounded me, for the last time!" and flashes before the vixen's eyes to reveal her true form. She later tells Lady Blue that the last component of the weapon is effectively in her grasp and activates the Doomsday Weapon converting Nottingham Castle into the heart of the weapon and once it is over, the cat gives the blue vixen an evil smile. As her smile dies down, Lady Blue tries to tempt her away from the weapon but the cat ignores her and instead rants that with the Doomsday Weapon she could transform Earth's sun into a source of unimaginable power and with that power she could sweep away Vixen and the other animals at Bernwood but as she gets too carried away Mirage finds herself on the receiving end of Lady Blue's disdain as the blue vixen ridicules her which angers her even further. Mirage warns Lady Blue that she could easily destroy her and the Earth causing Lady Blue to lampoon her even more further angering her. But Lady Blue has been too busy lampooning Mirage that she ignores what she said about Vixen and sensing her chances, Mirage tries to persuade Lady Blue into joining her by her side hinting that if the vixen was to join Mirage then she could share the power that they would have including re-starting the whole red-blue fox feud but in this case it would be the ''blue ''foxes who would be the victors, having listened to a raving speech Lady Blue comes to a great sense of in-decision: Domination with Mirage? Or total destruction of everything that ever existed? Mirage is further angered when Lady Blue gives an evasive response to the decision of domination or extermination and instead demands a simple answer; yes or no? The vixen then shocks the cat when she turns down the offer of absolute power and also stands her ground by stating "I will not join you in your bizarre dreams of conquest!" the cat further tries to convince Lady Blue to change her mind to no avail. After an interruption by a follower of the peacock who demands an explanation, Mirage states that she wants to restore Nottingham and England to their former glory but Lady Blue argues to the follower not to listen to the cat. After Lady Blue states that unless the weapon is destroyed then Mirage will use it for evil, the cat tries one last time. When she is granted refusal to use it, the cat reduces the follower to atoms in the hope that nothing will change the vixen's mind; but the vixen replies "How many times do I have to tell you?! I have said no! And I mean NO!" and destroys the weapon. The destruction of Nottingham Castle forces the cat and the vixen into a Nottingham graveyard where the pair are armed with the first and last components of the Doomsday Weapon; Mirage then tries to get Lady Blue to change her mind one last time stating that with the weapon she could have been free from the grief, rage and pain the fox feud caused her including the deaths of her friends, family and her mate but the vixen still does not listen and says "You might as well kill me!" Mirage jumps at the chance and both attack each other, this time Mirage is the winner and prepares to kill Lady Blue as she strangles her whilst laughing with malice and evil at the vixen's suffering. But Mirage intending to force Lady Blue to look into her eyes proves to be her undoing as the vixen wrenches herself free and bites her in the neck causing her to scream out in pain and drop the vixen back to her feet. The vixen then trips up Mirage and rants at her telling her not to talk to her about absolute power because she has experienced it and if she kept the same priggish light she once held her self in Maya Ali would never have been saved. As the cat gets to her feet, she snarls "So vixen! It is just you and me!" and the vixen retaliates by saying it always was and always will be. The cat repeats herself when she states "Then die, vixen!" only to get a very spiteful "Your wish is my command!" and both engage in a vicious fight where this time Lady Blue exhausts all the energy that Mirage once drained from her when she strangled her; the latter asks: "Who are what are you? Tell me!" The vixen replies: "I've waited a long time to say this: I am no common red fox, used to brawling...I am, Lady Blue! And in truth, I'm everything that you never will be! Cunning! Powerful!" but the cat is not yet finished and declares "To sword!" which is equally savage causing Lady Blue to even retreat (seemingly). Mirage touches on Lady Blue's retreat and calls her a coward; the vixen however sheaths her sword and takes off her belt to finish Mirage off as she actually grabs a tree branch then once Mirage appears, the cat is beaten with the branch which knocks her to the ground instantly. The Anthro Saga: Mirage returns in the Anthro Saga where she is another member of the Animalian Junta. Like Aleu and Copper her relationship with Prince John stays the same and she is his wife. Because of this, she is also one of the most powerful animals under Mechanikat alongside Zira and Belladonna. As the Junta wanes, Mirage tries to flee Animalia and tries to persuade Prince John to come with her. But the Prince is already weakened after a session of slow slicing and eventually finishes himself off with a gunshot through his mouth, as a result the planned escape does not happen and Mirage is arrested with any dignity she had previously under the Junta now up in smoke. On trial, Mirage is found guilty of 6 counts of war crimes and Genocide and sentenced to 20 years in prison. However she is released to pay her respects to Prince John alongside Hannah to pay her respects to the Sheriff of Nottingham and Crystal to Shere Khan and released for good after she receives a pardon from Hunter. She now lives in Animalia. Appearances * The Rise and Fall of Mirage * Journey of the Vixen (mentioned) * Day of the Tiger (shadow) * Operation Maharaja (face and voice) * All Animals are Equal, Mirage of Arabia, Search for the Sword and Duel of the Vixens (physical appearances) Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Cats Category:Canon Category:Criminals